Wolverine World Wide cancels plans for new shoe store in Rockford

Cory Morse | The Grand Rapids PressRockford City Manager Michael Young stands near the former site of the Wolverine World Wide tannery Thursday. Young is upset that plans to build a new shoe store on the property have been canceled.

ROCKFORD — After two years of planning and obtaining city approvals, Wolverine World Wide decided against building a new shoe store on the north edge of downtown.

“It’s a very disappointing deal for the city,” said City Manager Michael Young. “The merchants are unhappy because this was going to be a dynamic store to expand downtown.”

Wolverine planned to build a store at 181 N. Main St. before tearing down its existing store a couple of blocks north.

The $4 million project was expected to be the first stage of redeveloping 15 acres where a former tannery and other Wolverine buildings were demolished last fall.

Wolverine did not return phone calls for comment. Young said company officials told him they decided the existing shoe store is profitable and a new one is not warranted.

In an e-mail, Wolverine attorney Ken Grady verified the company “decided not to go forward with building a new store” and said the existing store will continue to operate.

The city approved a rezoning and site plan for a 10,000-square-foot building last July. Construction was to begin last October for a fall 2011 opening.

Young said he has received no plans for any other redevelopment on any of the property. Company officials in the past would not comment on plans in interviews or at a public meeting.

Young is evaluating whether to terminate a brownfield agreement between the city and Wolverine that allowed for future captured taxes to pay off the $1 million Wolverine spent on the demolition project.

The plan, approved in July, assumed redevelopment would increase the value of the 15 acres from $1.7 million to more than $10 million in about eight years. The increase in property taxes, over about 18 years, was to be used for the demolition costs.

Without the buildings, the property value dropped to $1.3 million, said Young.

He said the brownfield plan allows the city to charge taxes on a value of $1.7 million if no redevelopment occurs.

So the city will not lose money, Young said, and the brownfield plan enticed the company to tear down the vacant buildings.